League code switchers may have jump on Irish

Jake Niall

THE AFL says rugby league defectors Israel Folau and Karmichael Hunt are arguably better placed to adjust to their new chosen sport than the Irish players who have crossed from Gaelic football.

Responding to scepticism about whether Folau and Hunt could make the transition, the AFL's head of game development, David Matthews, said last night that the rugby league stars had many advantages over Irish players who attempted the jump from Gaelic football.

Matthews pointed out that whereas the Irish players came from an amateur sport, Folau and Hunt were seasoned professional athletes who had demonstrated the ability to perform in a professional environment and under public pressure.

''These guys [Hunt and Folau] in a lot of ways have got a lot more going for them than the Irish recruits,'' said Matthews.

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''In fact, they [the Irish players] often came with less. They haven't been in a professional environment … Karmichael Hunt has a proven track record of performing under pressure in front of big crowds.''

Matthews pointed out that Folau and Hunt also had played in a game that involved a high level of physical contact, compared with Irish players who had come from a sport that didn't have tackling. ''And they [the Irish] are handling a foreign-shaped ball.''

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Matthews acknowledged that the Irish players also played a ''360-degree game'' but added that there had been scepticism about whether some of those great Irish players, such as Jimmy Stynes, would make the leap back when it was attempted in the 1980s.

Matthews said it was often forgotten that Folau and Hunt were far from the first players to make the transition from rugby codes - players such Sydney's Lewis Roberts-Thomson (rugby union) and St Kilda's Sam Gilbert (rugby league) had successfully made the switch; the difference was that they had made the leap at a younger age. He said Hunt and Folau were ''unique'' in the sense that they were switching as professionals.

Matthews said the AFL had discussed not only the incoming Greater Western Sydney with Folau, but had dangled the possibility of him joining the Swans, who were subsequently told they had been raised in discussions with Folau. ''We said ,'OK, what do you want to do? Do you want to meet Paul Roos, do you want to meet Kevin Sheedy?' ''

Matthew said Folau, who plays for the Broncos and so is based in Brisbane, had preferred and eventually signed with GWS because it was closer to his family. ''He said it makes sense to live out west.''

The Swans have indicated they are not interested in recruiting NRL players, because they are investing heavily in their academy - which focuses on youngsters including some as young as nine and 10 and will involve youngsters from other sporting backgrounds.

Chaplin says he is shocked and angry at how much Folau will be paid to switch codes.

''The figures that have been thrown up in the media, if correct, are going to infuriate fellow players,'' Chaplin wrote on website theroar.com.au.

Chaplin said the amount of Folau's deal, reportedly $4 million, was a ''joke''. ''I respect the AFL's decision entirely, it is the figure of money that is being speculated that hits a nerve with fellow players,'' he wrote.

''The general consensus amongst our playing group is that it is a fantastic idea to lure another sportsmen from a rival code. The money is the key issue at the moment.

''We have guys on our list who have been playing football since they were seven years of age and who are earning $50,000 a year, which is still a significant amount of money for a 17-year-old kid. But that is ridiculed by what Folau will earn.''

Chaplin suggested Folau's lack of AFL skills could be ''detrimental''.

''He has all of the physical attributes but I am most certainly sure he doesn't have the technical attributes, at the moment, to make it as an AFL footballer,'' he wrote.